Tuesday, February 12, 2013

As you might imagine, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is front page news in all the Spanish papers.

At the time he was appointed, I thought Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was too old ( he was the oldest to be elected in over 300 years). Now at 85, the Pope says that he has neither the strength of mind nor body to continue. He will retire to a cloistered monastery and the process of electing a successor will begin. However, in effect that means that there will then be two popes with possibly different views on matters of the church.

Whoever succeeds him will have to continue facing the demons of clerical sex abuse and inadequate money laundering controls that have blighted Benedict’s 8 year papal reign.